Cushion and support for the feet.



'0. H. HILL. CUSHION AND SUPPORT FOR THE FEET. APPLICATION FILED NOV.$0. 1917.

1 ,2? 1 A6. Patented. July 2, 1918.

Wfnesses flo mgy CHARLES H. HILL, 0]? LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

CUSHION AND SUPPORT FOR THE FEET.

To all whom it may concem:

Be it known that I, CHARLES H. HILL, citizen of the United States,residmg at Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented-certain new and useful Improvements in Cushlons and Supportsfor the Feet, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements 1n cushions and supports for thefeet, and more particularly to a cushion or support such as is describedin United States Letters Patent #1,( )13,992, dated January 9, 1912', towhich Letters Patent reference is hereby made for a more particulardescription of the details such as are notherein specified, the bodyportion of said cushions or sup ports comprising a molded homogeneouselastic cellular substance.

Arch supporters as described and constructed according to said LettersPatent have been found to be decidedly advantageous over thoseheretofore in use. However when contained in boots r shoes notpossessinga shank of suflicient strength and rigidity to resist the welght of thewearer, the cushion in use has a tendency to cause a flattening of theboot or shoe at the shank, and thereby gives to the exterior of the shoean appearance of flat-footedness. One of the objects and purposes of myimproved device is to avoid the efiectm'entioned by distributing theweight to the heel and. ball of the shoe and thus avoid the breakingdown of the shank of theshoe.

It has also been found that in use the heel seat of the cushion orsupport has a tendency to curl out of its normal position. Another ofthe objects Jand purposes of the improvements herein 1s to avoid thiscurling at the heel seat.

I accomplish the above purposes as 1llu strated in the accompanying drawng, in which Figure 1 shows the body portion of a molded homogeneouselastic cellular substance. Fig. 2 shows across section of the bodyortion. Fig. 3 shows a weight carrying p ate; Fig. 4 shows a'supplementary heel portion. Fig. 5 shows my device assembled.

In Fig. 1, A shows the heel seat portion, B shows the forward portion.The line CD shows the position of'the cross section pictured in Fig. 2.E (Fig. 2) shows the location of the weight carrying plate made of steelor other rigid substances Specification of Letters Patent.

-mentary heel portion Patented July 2, 1918.

Application filed November 30, 193.7. Serial No. 204,488.

shown in Fig, 3. The plate E is so positioned within the body portion ofmy support, that its rear portion F rests upon .the heel of the shoe inwhich the cushion or support is worn and its forward end G, rests uponthe ball of the shoe. The weight carrying plate as a whole forms a spanfrom the heel portion to the ball of the shoe in which it is worn, suchspan being intended to carry the weight of the body removing thepressure from the shank of the shoe, and distributing it upon the heeland ball portion. The supplementary heel portion H (Fig. 4) comprises aplate preferably of heat proof filber, of a required stiffness, which ismolded into the body portion of the cushion or support-on the undersideof its heel portion, at A. Both the plate E and the supple- If, areincorporated within the'body portion roper during the molding process,where y they become firmly embedded therein and are securely heldinposition. I

By the use of my improved device as herein described, the life of thecushion or support is materially lengthened, the comfortof the usermaterially enhanced, andthin elastic layer, as would the use of a rigidmetallic plate similar to the one in the thick elastic portion. In otherwords, the rigid or metallic plate in the thick portion has a suflicientbody of elastic material above it to afford a suitable cushion which isnot affected by the plate, while .if such a rigid plate should beembedded inthe thin elastic heel seat, it would counteract thecushioning efiect.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A foot cushion or arch support, comprisin a molded homogeneouselastic cellular bo y, having a thin heel seat and athick intermediateportion, and a heat-proof fiber plate embedded in said thin heel seatand of sufficient stifl'ness to prevent said heel seat curling fromnormal position.

2. A foot cushion or arch support, comprising a molded homogeneouselastic cellular body having a thin heel seat and a thick intermediateportion, a rigid means embedded in said thick portion to support theWeight from the shank of the shoe, and a sition.

3. A foot cushion or arch support, comprising a molded homogeneouselastic cellular body having at one end a relatively thin heel seat orpad and a thick narrowed portion'intermediate said heel seat and itsfront end, a weight carrying plate of rigid material embedded in saidthick narrowed portion and extending from. said heel seat to adjacentits front end to span the shank portion of the shoe, and a fiber platein said thin heel seat to prevent said heel seat curl ing from normalposition.

4. A foot cushion or arch support, comprising a molded homogeneouselastic cellular body having at one end a relatively thin heel seat orpad and a thick narrowed portion intermediate said heel seat and i sfrontend, a weight carrying plate of rigid material embedded in saidthick narrowed portion at its lower side and extending from said heelseat to adjacent its front end to span the shank portion of the shoe,and a.

fiber plate embedded in the lower side of said heel seat to prevent, thesame from curling.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in the presence of twowitnesses.

CHARLES H. HILL. Witnesses:

IDA CALLUM, CHARLES W. LOVE'I'I.

